Standards

GCSE

GCSE Performance 2017

Progress 8 and Attainment 8 are the two measures that are used by the Department for Education to compare the performance of schools. They are designed to encourage schools to offer a broad and balanced curriculum at KS4.

Progress 8 calculates how much progress pupils make between their results in year 6 and their results in year 11. It is a ‘value-added’ measure, meaning pupils’ results are compared to the achievements of other pupils with similar year 6 results. Progress 8 will only be calculated for individual pupils in order to calculate a school’s score.

A school’s progress 8 score is an average of all pupils’ individual scores. It shows whether, as a group, pupils in the school made above or below average progress (indicated by a negative or positive score, respectively) compared to similar pupils in other schools.

Progress 8 is based on students’ progress measured across eight subjects:

English;

Mathematics;

Three other English Baccalaureate (EBacc) subjects (sciences, computer science, geography, history and languages);

Three further subjects, which can be from the range of EBacc subjects, or can be any other GCSE or approved, high-value arts, academic, or vocational qualification.

Attainment 8 is the students’ total achievement across these subjects.

The 2017 GCSE results are detailed here and our progress and attainment figures (overall, and for the various components) for 2017 are compared to the national picture in the tables below.

2017

Progress 8

English

Mathematics

EBacc

Open

School

0.30

0.10

0.33

0.60

0.10

National

-0.03

-0.04

-0.02

-0.03

-0.04

2017

Attainment 8

English

Mathematics

EBacc

Open

School

69.7

13.9

14.4

21.3

20.2

National

46.3

9.9

9

12.6

14.9

In 2017, 78% of the cohort achieved the EBacc at grade 5/C or above (compared to 17% nationally), with 95% of students achieving grade 5 or above in English and mathematics.

Note that there is a significant difference in the progress and attainment of boys and girls nationally.

A level

Bournemouth School staff have admirably supported students to overcome the turbulence associated with recent changes to many of the examination specifications to achieve some of the school’s best ever results. Overall, 80% of all entries were graded A*-C, with the average point score per A level entry increasing and almost a quarter of the cohort attaining at least 3 A levels at grade A* or A. A third of entries were awarded the top A*/A grades – well above the national average.

Of the year group as a whole, 29% achieved AAB or higher including at least 2 facilitating subjects, enabling them to access places on the very best degree courses.

Increasingly successful A level students are deciding not to attend university. Three students will start apprenticeship schemes and one student has secured a scholarship with the Navy and another, having passed the rigorous selection examinations, will begin his pilot training in the near future.

Ofsted Report

In the School’s last Ofsted report (September 2011) inspectors advised the school to ensure that all lessons are good or better by:

developing more rigorous monitoring of teaching and learning;

eliminating any remaining inconsistencies in the quality of teaching and marking of students’ work;

ensuring all lessons fully engage students and proceed at a good pace.

It was recognised that improvement plans were clear and relevant and had a strong focus on tackling weaknesses in teaching. At the time, it was considered that these initiatives were at any early stage and had had only a limited impact on learning. It was also noted that the way leaders and managers monitor teaching and learning varied, and, in the case of middle managers, sometimes lacked rigour.

Since the last inspection, line management has become more rigorous through developing shared schedules for monitoring and evaluation. Revisions to the Appraisal and Capability Policy (since 2012) have made more explicit the relationship between the School Improvement Plan and the responsibilities of individual teachers. The monitoring and evaluation schedules and the appraisal process are supplemented with an on-going analysis of assessment data to identify areas for development and prompt early intervention, a comprehensive schedule of lesson observations and work scrutinies, and area reviews. Teaching staff have undertaken a number of professional development activities, most recently focused upon stretching the most able, improving students’ levels of literacy and ensuring that marking and feedback enables students to effect improvement.